TRADE PACT SIEGE: Trade agreement issues spark debate on independence

Staff writer, with CNA

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said yesterday that a bill on overseeing cross-strait agreements supported by student-led protesters has turned an economic issue into a debate on independence.

Speaking at a legislative Internal Administration Committee hearing, Wu said Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), the two main leaders of the Sunflower movement against the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement, back independence and the bill they support reflects their stance.

A majority of Taiwanese favor maintaining the “status quo” with China, but the student-backed version of the oversight bill describes cross-strait accords as written documents signed by the Republic of China (ROC) government and the People’s Republic of China government, implying “state-to-state” relations, Wu said.

If this version is passed, it will open a Pandora’s box, Wu said.

A key demand by the students was for lawmakers to pass an oversight bill before a review of the pact is conducted.

They agreed on Monday to end their occupation of the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber at 6pm today, after Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) promised that he would not call a “consultative meeting” between the legislative caucuses before an oversight law has been passed.

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